In an extremely surprising move considering the show’s history, UK singing contest The X Factor have announced that viewers will be able to pitch in with votes on the competition for free in this upcoming series of the ITV show.

The new 11th season of the series, which on-screen will see the return of judges Simon Cowell and “Cheryl”, newcomer Mel B, and ever-present Louis Walsh, will run as it did last year through to the live show stage, where everything will for the most part be the same… except that when it comes to presenter Dermot O’Leary pitching the voting methods each weekend, viewers who aren’t just easily convinced or related to an act will consider actually taking part considering it would be within their budget range set out for ‘talent show voting’.

The introduction of free public votes for the first time in series history comes through a new official app of the show, running throughout the contest’s decisive live stages round.

Developed alongside Tectonic Interactive and Tellybug, the app will also carry ‘exclusive content’, games, quizzes, and an ‘improved Fifth Judge feature’, enabling users to predict which performers will progress the week and offer online ‘real-time feedback’ to the songs.

Accessible to iOS and Android-based device users, the service will permit a limit of five free interactive votes in a single ‘voting window’, with the votes only able to be allocated to a single contestant or ‘one combination of contestants’.

ITV representative Ann Cook said of the app: “Having successfully launched in-app voting for The X Factor last year, we know there’s a growing appetite for viewers to engage with the show via a digital platform. The new initiative to offer in-app voting for free centres around our ambition to give viewers new and exciting ways to interact with our shows, and explore how a mixed economy of free and paid voting drives interactive behaviour.”

Kat Hebden, from series co-producers FremantleMedia UK Interactive, added: “The introduction of free in-app voting on The X Factor will be a real game changer in terms of how people interact with the show and we’re looking forward to a fantastic series.”

Syco Entertainment’s Mark Brittain summarised: “We are constantly looking to innovate around the show. Giving the viewers the ability to vote free through the app will allow viewers, we believe, an even greater opportunity to interact with their favourite show and, of course, play the hugely important role in deciding the ultimate winner of the series.”

Returning to screens at 8pm on Saturday & Sunday (30-31 August), will The X Factor‘s near-groundbreaking move to enable free votes be the spark that leads efforts to keep on-screen interest going, or will it be the familiar faces in the judging table that have the best shot?

It has been revealed this week that Amazon have managed to come under the noses of rivals Google with the news that they have taken over streaming platform Twitch, at a cost of just $970m.

The online retail specialists have moved in on a deal that was long-since rumoured to be Google’s, after the latter had prepared a $1b takeover which has fallen flat in favour of the fast-emerging competing bid.

In spite of the slightly reduced amount received, Twitch are thought to have made the decision based on how each owner could help them grow and fit their vision, with Amazon clearly winning out.

In an open letter towards ‘the Twitch community’, Twitch’s CEO Emmet Shear stated of the reasons: “We chose Amazon because they believe in our community, they share our values and long-term vision, and they want to help us get there faster. We’re keeping most everything the same: our office, our employees, our brand, and most importantly our independence. But with Amazon’s support we’ll have the resources to bring you an even better Twitch.”

A statement from Amazon’s chief executive Jeff Bezos noted: “Broadcasting and watching gameplay is a global phenomenon and Twitch has built a platform that brings together tens of millions of people who watch billions of minutes of games each month. We look forward to learning from them and helping them move even faster to build new services for the gaming community.”

While some of the shows themselves have been going all-out to celebrate their participation on the nominees’ lists for this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards on NBC tonight, one of the most popular starting points for finding out more on said shows has made their celebratory move ahead of the evening, utilising one of its other divisions to do so.

Not one for letting a day go past without it being commemorated in some way, Google have picked out Google Street View as the place where they will celebrate the day of the Emmys this year, bringing a new Google LatLong blog post to attention with links to a special collection of show-themed ground-level browsing.

The blog highlights a number of prime filming locations from a number of the shows that will be competing for awards tonight, enabling viewers to get close-ish to the locations that their favourite actors once (or continue to) grace while on-duty. Content linked to in the post includes “Los Pollos Hermanos” of Breaking Bad fame, “Freddy’s BBQ Joint” from House of Cards, and “Yunkai” on Game of Thrones. Other award-nominated shows included with special set-based virtual visits include Downton Abbey and Scandal.

The post summarised: “Whether you’re into D.C. intrigue or Khaleesi’s conquests, chances are you’re watching the Emmy Awards on Monday. To get ready for the show, relive your favorite moments from this year’s nominees with Google Maps. While we can’t get you a ticket to the awards, Google Maps can at least make you feel like an extra on the set of your favorite show. Happy (Street) viewing!”

Of course, those who are really desperate to visit the awards on location could visit the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles (USA) on Street View tonight and pretend like a bouncer isn’t letting them in… and also that it’s darker than in the pictures.

The upcoming new Fox series Gotham, a superhero drama without the superheroes, is being well promoted by Fox ahead of what they hope will be an anticipated release, with their latest move in the hype-creating campaign being to produce an exclusive four-part behind-the-scenes documentary for its YouTube channel.

The video series, on the Gotham sub-channel of Fox on the video site, looks at the characters and settings set to come into play in the origin story show, which focuses mainly on the character of ‘Detective James Gordon’ (Ben McKenzie), as he goes through his early years on the Gotham City police force, dealing with a number of developing villains famous in the Batman franchise, and forging a friendship with a wealthy recently-orphaned boy called ‘Bruce Wayne’.

McKenzie said of the show and its approach to the brand’s mythology: “You see all these legendary characters, but you’re seeing them at a point in their lives that haven’t really been explored before. When we start the series, James is more or less just out of the military. He hasn’t been in Gotham for a decade or more, he left when he was a kid. He’s a little bit a fish out of water, he doesn’t exactly know what’s going on in Gotham and he’s figuring it out moment to moment. He’ll make mistakes, trust the wrong people, follow his heart and at times that will lead him into dangerous situations.”

DC Comics’ Geoff Johns added: “[Gordon’s case partner] Harvey Bullock is a detective in the comics, he’s never been realised in the live action and Donal Logue is the first person to ever play him. He’s absolutely perfect for the role. Part of this fun is that we don’t want to regurgitate a comic book, we want to elevate it, we want to make it something it’s never been before while staying true to DC.”

A creation of Bruno Heller (The Mentalist), the series has the potential for a large premiere audience given its content and the popularity of the franchise’s most recent movie releases, although that initial popularity can only be truly measured once Fox have aired the premiere on 22 September. For fans of the format looking to tide themselves over, the mini-documentary can be seen below:

Anyone who has been under the age of 13 (or 18, for that matter) at some point during the existence of YouTube will be aware of the limitations that the site will put on for becoming a registered user (or watching certain content), an issue usually bypassed by merely ticking a few boxes.

It appears as though Google are making headway in an attempt to have a more honest young userbase (and to better adhere to the spirit of the American ‘Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act’), with a planned launch of a ‘child-friendly’ app version of YouTube that should at least be popular with parents.

The Information report that the American search engine giants want their star video property to be ‘more open’ for younger viewers, with a version that they consider ‘safe’ and age appropriate. Measures believed to be planned for the platform include a parent monitor-based dashboard.

It is also rumoured to extend to other Google services including Gmail and potentially Google+ (amongst others), as Google aim to make their platforms more widely accessible to all potential users.

While it is unclear when such a service will be launched, it is one believed to have been a while in the making, but with one tick on a fake profile widely accepted as being generally all that is needed to access the main site, will this offering be more towards and to appease any ‘moral guardian’ detractors they may have?

The highly-trending and quickly-spreading ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ is probably only heading into a slow decline in shock value considering that *everyone* is now doing it, but Charlie Sheen’s recent effort at least keeps the idea refreshing, and not in the way that having cold water over your body does.

Amongst the many dull and generic celebrity dousings on the internet this week, FX‘s Anger Management actor Sheen managed to make both a generous gesture, a statement towards other wealthy participants, and a challenge to his main enemies in showbusiness, all in the space of a minute whilst remaining completely bone dry.

The video he posted, uploaded through celebrity gossip network TMZ, shows a smartphone recorded clip of the eccentric actor as he pours the bucket… only for money to come out.

While such a scene would be perfect for a stereotypical rap video, he instead notes that it is a total of $10,000 (rather than the challenge’s rule-suggested $10/$100) which he will be donating to the ALS Association, and for his ‘3 people to challenge’ part, he picked out three people involved with his former CBS show Two and a Half Men: co-star Jon Cryer, creator Chuck Lorre (who sacked him after a series of controversies in 2011), and Sheen’s replacement Ashton Kutcher, all being called out to do what Sheen does in the video below: